Simon Portman is a Commercial IP lawyer from Marks and Clerk’s Cambridge office. But his working day starts in Norfolk and ends in Edinburgh...

06:15

Poppy, my dog, jumps on the bed and makes it clear it’s time for a walk so I get up, throw on some outdoor clothes and take her out. I look at my emails as I get ready so I know what kind of a day I might expect. Exercise-wise, having a dog is good as you have to go out whatever the weather, even if it’s freezing cold or pouring with rain.

07:00

After getting ready back in the warmth of my house, I take the train into Cambridge from where I live in Norfolk. The journey takes about 50 minutes and I have a chance to ping out some emails on the train.

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My Patent Attorney colleague Philip Martin and I attend a breakfast meeting in Cambridge city centre with a new client spun out of the University’s Engineering Department. Their technology relates to novel microfiltration techniques. After Phillip has given an initial view on the patentability of new developments, I advise on the legal side of things with the need to ensure that the company only makes disclosures to potential investors with a confidentiality agreement in place and has tied staff in with appropriate consultancy and employment contracts.

09:30

Philip and I discuss the next steps on the way back to the office and, once we’re there, I begin work on a draft assignment and consultancy agreement for the client we’ve just met.

10:15

One of the experts from our consulting business phones me. With their experience in valuing intellectual property portfolios, there is an opportunity for us to pitch for work for a company looking to sell its IP portfolio. The plan is for our consultants to come up with a reasoned valuation of the IP being sold and for me to take care of the contract side things. We discuss how to put our presentation together in advance of the pitch meeting. After the call and some immediate follow-up actions, I’m back to the work for the client we met earlier.

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We brought the training of our patent and trade mark attorneys in-house a few years ago and I give the contract and business law lectures for the course by Skype. Today it’s the one on company legislation and different business entities and there will be 10 trainees listening on from our offices spread around the UK. I dispense with the webcam as, given the lighting in my office, all they’d see is a silhouette as if I were an MI5 operative being interviewed by the BBC. It’s probably for the best they don’t see my face anyway! When the webinar is over I grab a quick sandwich.

14:15

I finish the assignment and consultancy agreement I began before lunch and send them over. Then I begin drafting a research collaboration agreement for a London client who is embarking on a project with two other European companies and a university. It’s crucial that there is clarity on who will be doing what and how the intellectual property coming out of their research activities will be owned. Half way through doing this, I field a question from a colleague on who should be invited to the next client seminar we’ll be holding. I give her some names.

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I haven’t quite finished the collaboration agreement but it’s off to Norwich Airport as I need to fly to Edinburgh this evening; given where I live, it’s a more convenient location to fly from than Stansted.

17:00

After checking in and getting through security, I do some more work on my laptop before boarding. Among other things, I finish the collaboration agreement and send it off.

18:30

The plane takes off. A coffee and a flapjack sustain me during the flight as I prepare for tomorrow. As well as catching up with my colleagues in the Edinburgh office, I’ll be assisting one of the patent attorneys on a new matter which has just come in, and giving a quick talk to all the fee earners on the perils of failing to secure patent assignments properly. It’s a trap many clients fall into. Then I’ll be dropping in on a longstanding client to see how they’re getting on post-acquisition by a big pharmaceutical company. It’s the first time I will have seen them since the transaction completed. I was involved on the intellectual property and contract due diligence side. Luckily, there were no glitches on that front (largely because the client sought all the requisite professional advice at the time) and the sale went through relatively smoothly and on schedule.

19:35

We land in a gale-force wind and the twin-engined turboprop is tossed around like an Airfix model in a tumble drier but the airline is used to the rough weather up here so this is no big deal. We touch down safely.

20:00

I take the airport bus to Edinburgh city centre. The bus stop is conveniently five minutes’ walk from both the hotel and our Edinburgh office.

20:45

I have dinner in the hotel restaurant rather than venturing further afield as the high winds are now laced with torrential rain. In the bar I meet some holiday makers from Trondheim, Norway. We have a lot of Norwegian clients, so I’ll be visiting there in a couple of months’ time with a colleague to attend a conference and catch up with some of our existing clients and, I hope, secure new ones. I tell them about my trip and manage to glean some useful background information on the university and technology start-ups there.

22:15

I get back to my room and catch up on my emails. The client I sent the research collaboration agreement to has sent me some feedback so I incorporate it. Then I make final preparations for tomorrow.

22:45

I consider taking a quick stroll round the block before turning in but it’s still tipping it down so, with no dog to force me to brave the elements – my colleagues would not include Poppy in my travel budget! I decide against it and go to bed. With luck, the sun will come out tomorrow.